Lamb of God

Nothing succeeds like success, but by the same
token, nothing breeds failure like failure. While all of us
wish to be more successful in life, past experience makes
us well aware of our limitations. No matter what we
want to do for ourselves or for others, we generally feel
handicapped by lack of talent, time, resources,
motivation, or support. Furthermore, burdens of past
disappointments, disillusionment, self-reproach, and
guilt lie heavy on our backs. It is often impossible to get
ahead because there is so much holding us back where
we are.
In this weekend’s Gospel, John the Baptist points to
Jesus as “the Lamb of God, the One who takes away the
sin of the world.” That phrase at first seems odd. What
could this mean? What does it mean that Jesus takes
away the sin of the world? What is this “sin” and how
does Jesus take it away? And what does taking it away
accomplish? Does this mean that there is no more sin in
the world? In practical terms, does this have any
relevant bearing on our lives?
It is obvious that sin has not been removed from the
world. If anything, it abounds all around us! This
cannot, then, be the meaning of John’s assertion that
Jesus takes sin away. Something much more subtle is
actually indicated, something tied in with the goal of
John’s preaching. Both Jesus and John called for
conversion to a whole new way of life. The success of
this transformation, however, would necessitate leaving
the old way behind.
What we learn from the Baptist’s intriguing
assertion is that Jesus, as the Lamb of God, releases us
from the burdens of the past so that we are free to pursue
a new course of life in the future! We can never take
advantage of opportunity if we are anchored to the past.
Nor are we really free to pursue a better life for
ourselves if we are burdened with guilt and selfrecrimination.
We cannot move on to future goals if we
keep looking back on the past.
When we put aside our burdens, we are free to go
forward. When Jesus takes away sin, he is not
condoning sin or relieving us of personal responsibility
for our sins; he is encouraging us to lay our burdens
down, get on with our lives, and not get stuck with the
baggage of the past! Think about it!!